Rain inundates Rohtak roads, MC claims of preparedness fall flat

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, June 29

The first rain of the season that lashed the district today gave some respite to people from the scorching heat, but dashed tall claims of the district administration on monsoon preparedness to the ground.

Over 30 minutes of rain led to waterlogging in all main markets of Old Rohtak, including Chhotu Ram Chowk, HUDA Complex, Palika Bazar, Railway Road, Pratap Ch Kathmandi and Gohana Adda market.

The water also entered shops at some places. Vehicles, especially two wheelers, were stuck at some places due to waterlogging. Two-wheeler riders were seen wading their bikes through the water. The accumulation of water forced several people at various markets to shut their shops.

Deepak, a resident of Prem Nagar, said it was unfortunate that the authorities had not learnt any lesson from previous year when the rains had flooded several low-lying areas in the city not once but several times during the monsoon season.

“Waterlogging across the city clearly indicates that only paper work has been done in the name of desilting of the drains and cleaning of sewers. The arrangements by the authorities to drain out rain water have proved insufficient,” he added.

Rakesh Garg, a local congress leader, questioned, “When a 30-minute rain can wreak havoc in the city, imagine what would happen if the rain continued for hours?” “The district authorities still have some time to take vital steps to curb the repetition of previous year’s situation when the water remained accumulated in many localities for a long time leading to inconvenience to people,” he said.